Owning a home comes with an endless to-do list, and finding reliable help for all the little (and not-so-little) fixes can feel like an impossible and sometimes overwhelming task. Chicago North Shore Moms found one solution to this pain point and enlisted our contributor Carly Ubersox, a professional copywriter and Evanston mom, who put Honey Homes to the test! Honey Homes is an app-based handyman service designed to take the stress out of home maintenance with pre-scheduled routine service. And having owned four homes over two decades, currently residing in a circa 1911 former bungalow, Carly knows a thing or two about the trials and tribulations of home ownership. Read on for Carly’s firsthand experience and find out if this service could be the game-changer your home needs!
Words and photos by Chicago North Shore Moms contributor and Evanston mom of two, Carly Ubersox.
If I had to count how many times we needed help around the house for things falling apart, breaking, or giving in to years of wear and tear, I’d lose track. Add to that the many times we tried to get professional help, only to be disappointed, overcharged, or just ignored, and frankly it’s overwhelming. Being a homeowner is hard! Thankfully, Honey Homes is an app and service that can alleviate the pile up of projects, keeping your house in tip-top shape and giving you peace of mind.
The inevitable household projects you keep putting off…
There are many small things we can’t fix ourselves due to lack of time or skill, but feel like hiring outside help is too much of a risk, so we end up just living with them – those cabinets that don’t fully close, a front door draft, a flickering undermount light, large cracks in our molding. No doubt you have a similar list of projects. Why is it so difficult to address them? You want someone who can be trusted to show up within a reasonable time frame, do a good job, be accountable for said job, and not overcharge you. If you’re lucky online, you might find someone who fits one of these prerequisites, but there’s no guarantee with Google.
How Honey Homes can help:
Thankfully, the team behind Honey Homes understands all of this and is trying to make it easy for people like us to keep their house in strong working order. It is an investment to be sure, but one annual payment gives you a lot of flexibility and you’ll be surprised how many projects, both big and small, can be checked off your to-do list. Some popular projects Honey Homes can handle for you include:
- Assemble furniture
- Install smart locks, security cameras and electric charging stations
- Fix and/or replace a leaking faucet
- Power wash deck or patio
- Repair cabinetry, touch-up paint, update lightbulbs
How it works:
The Honey Homes app makes organizing tasks a breeze. Download the app on ios or android and create an account for these standout features:
- Your own personal handyman who is responsive, knowledgeable and accountable. The same person, each and every time you need them, who gets to know your home well.
- A shared to-do list that can be easily managed/prioritized in the app.
- Schedule specific times for visits that work for you – no more waiting on long time windows or last-minute confirmations.
- 24/7 help center for questions about household concerns or quality referrals for certified outside vendors if needed (i.e. electricians or specialty plumbers).
Our Honey Homes handyman is Jonah. For our initial visit, he came through the house and we made notes about what projects needed his attention. He even pointed out a few things I’ve been ignoring and added them to the app’s “Honey-do List.” The list can be prioritized in the app by simply toggling entries up or down and adding or removing projects any time. As soon as you notice something to be fixed, just open the app and add it in! This ensures it will be dealt with in a timely manner.
Deciding what order to tackle it all:
Jonah and I discussed the jobs at hand and I decided what to prioritize for service visits. We needed parts for two projects – a new door sweep, new light bulbs, and a new faucet. He texted me several links for these in advance, allowing us time to review, compare and purchase them on our own time and within our budget. In your “Honey-do” list, each project shows if you need parts, so you can confirm receipt and your handyman knows you’re ready for the work.
A cut above the rest.
The annual membership I mentioned before attract and retain the best in the field, so you can trust that your home is in great hands. Honey Homes explained to me that members feel comfortable with their handyman, leaving them to tackle projects even while you’re away. What a relief coming home to completed projects that are done correctly!
What’s more…. All of their handymen are full-time employees with insurance, paternity benefits, paid time off, and more. They’re also thoroughly vetted, including background checks and an on-site skills test (only 7% of applicants make the cut!).
Getting it done, and done and done again – Honey Homes is the real deal:
For our service visits, scheduled on the app for 1.5 hours each, I received a confirmation notification in advance and Jonah arrived right on time. He was prompt, professional, friendly and helpful, tackling the previously arranged hit list of projects based on the time allotted. For one month of service (3 hours, which can be rolled over if unused) we now have a new faucet that doesn’t leak with a working sprayer, undermount lighting that doesn’t flicker, freshly siliconed granite in the kitchen, a draft-free front door, and cabinets that close all the way!
Bottom line, you don’t have to live in “The Money Pit.”
Show me the money:
Via the app, users pay a one-time annual fee of $3,540 (that averages out to $295/month) that guarantees you 42 hours of service which can be used flexibly throughout the year. Alternatively, you can purchase 21 hours of service over six months ($1,770). The cost seems like a large amount when you pay it all upfront, but consider that your home is likely one of your most valuable investments and you really can’t beat the convenience.
Oh! And those 42 hours are super flexible – you can use your 42 membership hours towards services like window-washing, carpet cleaning, gutter cleaning, tree trimming, and more? They truly want to be your one-stop shop for all things home care-related!
It’s a wrap – my final review:
Streamlining the process of home care with Honey Homes is an efficient way to make your life easier, so you can enjoy your home instead of stressing about it. Have you struggled to find a trustworthy helper who can be consistently called on for all those household to-dos? Are you worried about small fixes becoming bigger problems? Does the pile-up of projects add to your already full plate? If you answered yes to these questions, then Honey Homes may be a worthwhile spend for the serenity we all need to keep the household humming.
About Carly: Carly is a retired PR exec who now works as a staffing consultant and marketing writer for ALR Connections. She and her husband have owned four homes over two decades, currently residing in a circa 1911 former bungalow in Evanston with their two teenage daughters.
